The Veteran's back disability has been granted a 20% rating, effective as of the date of this decision.,A separate compensable rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy prior to October 6, 2017 is denied. A higher than 10% rating thereafter is also denied.,Service connection for hemorrhoids has been remanded and a VA medical opinion is needed.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's back disability was found to meet the criteria for a 20% rating, effective as of the date of this decision. The right lower extremity radiculopathy prior to October 6, 2017 did not warrant a separate compensable rating.,For the right lower extremity radiculopathy from October 6, 2017 onwards, the Veteran's condition was found to meet the criteria for a 10% rating. A higher than 10% rating is denied as there was no evidence of moderate or more severe incomplete paralysis.,Service connection for hemorrhoids has been remanded due to insufficient medical opinion regarding its etiology.
- Claimed conditions
- Thoracolumbar spine (back), Left lower extremity radiculopathy, Right lower extremity radiculopathy, Hemorrhoids
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19107913
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,569 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19107913.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of July 10, 2024 for service connection for PTSD, lumbar strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for an increased evaluation of his hemorrhoids, so the case is dismissed.
- Denied
The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy was evaluated at a 20 percent rating, and the Board found that it did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the claims for psychiatric disability and sleep apnea.,Service connection was granted for right lower extremity radiculopathy and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to a service-connected back disability, but denied for right wrist disability.
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